Latino Daily News

Argentine Police Officer Kills 2, Wounds 15 in Night Club

A policeman gunned down two people, one of them a police force superintendent, and wounded another 15 at a discotheque in the town of Naschel in the central Argentine province of San Luis, local media reported Saturday.

The incident occurred in the wee hours Saturday when police inspector Walter Talquenca entered the club and shot Naschel Police Commissioner Julio Marcelo Barrios and a truck driver from Buenos Aires, identified as Fernando Brizuela, both of whom died.

Another 15 individuals were wounded in the shooting, mostly young people enjoying a night at the club.

According to police officials, the aggressor, who was having a day off, had been drinking and was under the effects of mood-altering substances when he entered the discotheque.

The same sources said that after opening fire inside the disco, Talquenca tried to get away and was pursued by fellow police officers to the town’s police station where he was shot in the leg and arrested.

In a statement to the media, Martin Olivera, security minister of San Luis, said that “before the shots, there was no hint of violence or argument. He walked into the club and started shooting.”

Provincial Gov. Claudio Poggi decreed three days of mourning for the tragic incident.